


I'm In Between, But Way More Fresher

by orphan_account



Category: Little Mix (Band), One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-05
Updated: 2014-02-05
Packaged: 2018-01-11 05:21:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1169170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis owns a daycare and for some reason, Niall spends his summer there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'm In Between, But Way More Fresher

“It’s tiiiiiiiiiiime, Niall! It’s Nursery Day!” Harry opened the curtains and the light flooded into Niall’s room.

“Why? It’s 8am! Why?” Niall dug his head further into his pillow. “Can’t we back out?”

He handed his roommate his cup of tea. Harry knew nothing mattered if Niall didn’t have his tea first thing. “No! We are going to go play with the little children and the babies and we are going to hold them and kiss them and smell their little baby heads and listen to their little baby giggles and-”He was interrupted by Niall bleating like a goat-”and then when we’re done, we can go to that record store you like. Isn’t that a good deal?”

Niall didn’t much care for babies. He liked his nephew just fine, but babies he had no blood ties to just made him want to vomit. Probably because that’s usually what they did. On him. “You just want to spend time with your boyfriend. That’s cool, man. I get it.”

“Hey, there will be none of that! This is a professional work environment and I will do nothing to jeopardize Louis’s nursery…during business hours.” Harry pulled a tattered paint-stained shirt out of the closet and threw it on the lump under the covers. “Put this on. That way when you end up in snot and tears and vomit and maybe a little pee, you won’t whine.”

“Genius, Styles. You’re a genius. But I’m still packing another shirt for the record store. And maybe a Hazmat suit, just to be safe.”

*****

Every previous summer vacation with Harry, Niall spent sleeping until 2pm and nursing a hangover with cold pizza and FIFA until 9pm when the drinking started again. But because his roommate was hopelessly, madly, disgustingly in love with the manager of a brand new nursery, he agreed to spend 12 hours a week volunteering there so his best friend could see his boyfriend as often as possible. The sacrifices made for Harry’s happiness ran deep. Niall was a good friend. And if there just happened to be a girl fresh out of nursing school called Jesy that was working there during the summer, it just happened to be a happy coincidence.

But when they arrived at Yorkshire Nursery (Louis wanted to name it Sprogs but Niall was the only one who truly appreciated the double meaning), Niall was suddenly excited with the endless possibilities of wreaking havoc with these little humans. He had already worked out the ways he could lead a mutiny or start a rock band or beat the giants on the mountain. They walked into a huge bright room with red, pink, and orange walls and dry erase boards, littered with drawings unmistakably that of a toddler’s. Only when Niall saw Louis dressed as a meerkat trying to hide from the group of King Cobras, did he know there was no way he could get fired for being inappropriate. 

“I sat through five hours of childcare training, and he is playing Sahara Adventure. I can do this!” Niall clapped Harry on the back and went to join the other toddlers on the ground, hissing and growling at Louis, cowered in the corner. Louis realized the boys had arrived and stood up. “Okay, kiddos! Meerkat Lou needs a break! Come over and meet two new friends! This is Niall and that-” He pointed at Harry who was admiring the arts and crafts tables-”is Harry. Say hello, Cobras!” Twelve tiny voices appeared from all around the room, shrieked their welcomes and tackled Niall.

Niall emerged from the pile with a little boy attached to his neck, who called himself Sebastian. He had bright red hair and if Niall didn’t know any better, he would think he was named after Ariel’s crustacean friend. Sebastian led him to the area where the trucks were lined up, but Louis stopped them before they could sit. “Sorry Seb, but I have to borrow Niall for just a minute.” His bottom lip jutted out and Louis poked it back in. “You’ll get him back in five minutes, promise. Start counting now!”

Louis led Harry and Niall around the room, showing them the various supplies and distractions needed for children in a non-sanctioned, non-educational setting. He led them to the restrooms, and the two other rooms; the infants, and the infirmary. Jesy, her hair tied in a bun high atop her head that looked like it hurt, was finishing bandaging up the knee of a little girl with pigtails held up with bright yellow bananas. “Look at those barrettes!” Harry said in awe. “They’re my favorite fruit! What’s your name?” He crouched down next to the little girl and wiped her eyes.

The little girl bowed her head and mumbled, “Anna. Like banana.” She pointed to her barrettes. Harry’s smile couldn’t have gotten any bigger, his dimples deep and pronounced. “Well Anna Banana! Don’t tell anyone, but I believe you’re my new best friend. Shall we go find a book and we can color and we can talk about our favorite fruits?” He lifted her off the table and they walked back to the room.

Jesy looked at Louis, eyebrows raised. “How are you going to get any work done with that charming boy here?” She pursed her lips knowing full well the only reason they had “additional summer employment” was because Louis couldn’t be without his gentle giant in bandanas.

Louis grabbed Niall by the back of the neck and yelled while looking at the girl with her crossed arms and knowing smirk, “C’mon! Let’s go see the babies! I know they’re your favorite!” Niall shared Jesy’s smirk as Louis pulled from the office.

The infant room was much smaller than the other room, with only seven occupants, most of them sleeping soundly in cribs. The walls were cream and bare, with the drapes varying shades of green and yellow, and Niall had no doubt Harry was a big influence on the decor. “There’s only capacity of eight from six to 24 months because of permits and such.” Louis seemed genuinely upset by this; Niall was amazed. “And because otherwise I would probably steal one and no one would notice.” Louis winked as he walked over to one particular crib, where a baby with olive skin and stark black hair sticking straight up was laying. He ran his fingers through her matted hair and smiled softly. “This is Anneliese and she’s my favorite. But probably don’t tell anyone, yeah?”

Niall chuckled to himself. No wonder Harry was hopelessly, madly, disgustingly in love.

*****

After a few days, Niall had to admit that he didn’t hate being at the nursery. He enjoyed spending time with the kids. Harry ran full-force into it, teaching the kids crafts and one day attempting to do yoga with them which ended in a disastrous fall on his part. Niall preferred to stay a bit more low-key. He and Sebastian became fast friends, with Niall even promising to bring his guitar in so they could play some music together. Seb was only four, but he claimed to play a mean ukulele. One day he brought it in and proceeded to play “Somewhere Over the Rainbow“ flawlessly. Niall stared at him, awestruck. “Where did you learn to play that?”

Sebastian smiled as he carefully put the ukulele back in its case. “My uncle is a music man.”

“Oh yeah? What’s he called?”

“Uncle Ed.” He shrugged. “He plays songs in big big buildings all over the universe. And he knows Taylor Swift!”

*****

Niall rarely went to the infant room, and sure, maybe once or twice he took a kid to the infirmary specifically to chat with Jesy. That was fine, really; plasters were like trophies when you’re five and Jesy was awfully good at putting them on. Harry had Louis, there was no reason Niall couldn’t have someone as well.

Jesy was quite possibly the most beautiful woman Niall had ever seen. And Niall had seen some beautiful women in his time. Thick and curvy and soft with hair that begged to be touched and thighs that sang to him, Niall could admit he was slightly intimidated by her. Jesy was the type of woman that took no flack from any man and took no snark from any woman.

When one particularly nasty spill forced him to take a little boy to the infirmary, he hoped it was clear to Jesy it was an accident and not a casualty in his incessant need to spend time with her.

“Ohhh, Alexander! That’s quite the gash! What were you doing? Fighting giants again?” She clucked as she washed the wound. “I told you last time, you aren’t big enough to beat Goliath yet!”

Alexander looked up at her through teary eyes. “Niall said I could do it. Niall said I can do anything I want because I’m a beast and the beast bows down to no one!”

Jesy bit the inside of her lip, trying not to smile. “Perhaps we wait until we’re six to be a beast, yeah?” She looked up and Niall and cocked her eyebrow. “Perhaps Goliath is still just a little too powerful right now?” She placed two Hulk plasters on the boy’s forehead. “No stitches this time. Good job!” The two high-fived and Alexander bounded out the door.

Niall held his hands up sheepishly. “When I was five, I was the King Beast, okay? It was an honest mistake, I swear!”

She washed her hands and shoved him lightly. “I get bored, yeah, but then I just go hold the babies with Perrie and Leigh. I don’t actually like to see injured kids all day! Promise you’ll be more careful? Kids can’t hang upside down from the monkey bars punching Goliath, okay?”

Niall smirked. “How do you know that’s even what happened?”

“Because I was watching you out the window.”

*****

Harry loved Louis. Harry loved that Louis was living his dream opening the nursery and being successful and happy. But this nursery just made Harry want a baby. Maybe not that very second seeing as university was sort of consuming his life at the moment, but Harry wanted a baby. Five. No, seven. No, 12. He wanted to be the old lady in the shoe. And spending all his time at the nursery didn’t help quell the urge. Holding babies all day and playing with the toddlers, he knew it was probably very odd to be 20 and to want a baby this badly.

As he was rocking his favorite, Anneliese, to sleep, Perrie came over and laughed much too loudly in the face of a sleeping infant. “I thought maybe you were here for Louis, but I reckon you very well might be here for the babes.”

“Two for one deal? I just love seeing him with the kids. Do you see how his face lights up and his eyes get all crinkled when he holds these tiny little babies?” His face was so earnest, Perrie wanted to kiss his dimpled cheeks.

“You two have the same look. Act the exact same. Even sing the same song to them. And that one is both your favorite. Have you ever noticed that?” She scrubbed down the high chairs, watching him out of the corner of her eye. His smile matched hers when he realized what she meant.

“What’s the deal with you and Zayn, Perrie?”

Perrie walked over and picked Anneliese up, set her in her crib. “Whoever are you speaking about? Surely not the tall, dark, handsome art studio employee who comes and finger paints with the kids for two hours every Tuesday? I’ve not the faintest idea who you mean.” Perrie and Zayn had been spending time together for nearly two months, and it seemed as though barely anyone knew. Perrie wasn’t one to keep her relationships quiet, but there was something about being able to spend time with someone without having to talk about it. It was new to her, and keeping it close to her chest was exciting. And nearly impossible.

“He’s single!” Leigh-Anne yelled from the sink, where she was washing the bottles. Harry took over, pushing her out of the way and examining the nipples ever so closely. “Pretty sure he’s straight, too.” Niall and Zayn were friends from an art class that Niall thought would be a gut credit and turned out to be the seventh circle of hell. Zayn did all his projects for him and Niall introduced him to Harry as a thank-you. Which didn’t work out all that well, but he had tried.

“He is. Lou and I should have a party, invite everyone over! Niall has this thing for Jesy and it would be nice to have a whole circle of office romances happening!”

“Sure. That plan can’t possibly go wrong.”

Leigh-Anne laughed. “Just make sure Zayn is there. Perrie can continue to impress him with her vast knowledge of artwork.”

Perrie threw a towel at Leigh-Anne. “I know a lot about art, thanks very much. I went to the Met when we were in New York, remember?”

“And you nearly knocked over a statue and got us kicked out before we even made it through an entire exhibit, remember?”

“Perhaps I should stop by Tate Modern to brush up on some things before this party happens.”

*****

Friday rolled around and Louis was out sick and Harry was in a panic and Niall was too tired to deal with any nonsense. He was watching Liam conduct an obstacle course for the toddlers that would most certainly end in a visit or two to the infirmary. “You really think the kids are going to be able to do this? Can I do it too? Blindfolded?! I bet I could beat them.”

Liam was too busy setting down a series of orange traffic cones to take the conversation seriously and Niall could tell. “You know you love getting those kids all riled up so naptime is a nightmare for Louis.” He stood, stared, and then moved a cone a quarter-inch to the right. Liam and Louis met in university when they had freshmen English together. They ended up partners on a project. Easy-going Louis nearly gave perfectionist Liam multiple coronaries, but when they didn’t kill each other, they decided they could probably become friends. Five years later and Liam was a gym teacher at Louis’s beck and call when the kids were antsy and needed physical activities. One can be a meerkat only so many times.

Niall contemplated this answer. “Lou’s not in today. I can do it. I’ll use Harry’s stupid headband as a blindfold. I’m going to do this!” He ran off to get the bandana covered in glasses and handed it to Liam. “Tie it tight!”

Liam obliged, and Niall began the course, trying to listen to the instructions Liam was shouting at him. But he confused his left with his right and toppled head over heels. He rolled onto his back, pulled the makeshift blindfold off. “Definitely too hard for the kids.”

*****

It had been three weeks since Niall and Harry started spending time at the nursery, and Niall had to admit, he didn’t hate it. He appreciated how funny the kids were and just how imaginative they could be. He fancied himself a pretty imaginative person, but he would never have decided to make a wand from connected dry-erase pens, or determine the Share Rug was a pit of hot lava where the gremlins lived and tried to bite your feet off. That day was a particularly emotional one when a shy little girl named Samantha lost her left foot to a gremlin named Anthony and Harry spent 40 minutes trying to show her that it was all pretend and “look, your foot is still there!”.

One rainy Tuesday, Zayn came to do his weekly art lesson with the kids. Niall watched as he taught the toddlers their colors and encouraged them in making their masterpieces. Watching him, he wondered why he worked in a stuffy art studio and not at a school. He asked him as such. 

Zayn shrugged. “Got hired at the gallery and just…stayed. This is fun, though. It’s fun seeing the kids learn to love art the way I did. Seeing what they create.” One of the kids brought her green-blobbed paper to Zayn. “That’s a great dinosaur, Maggie! What’s its name?”

The little girl beamed. “ZAYNASAURUS REX! RAWR!” She made her hands into claws and pretended to attack Zayn. He picked her up and spun her around in a circle. “If I were a dinosaur, I’d be a Stegosaurus!! What do you reckon you would be?”

The little girl stood deep in thought. “I would be Little Foot!” She smiled shyly at her revelation and ran back to her easel.

Niall huffed in astonishment. Zayn was definitely working in the wrong field.

***** 

During nap time after art class, Niall ventured over to the infant room where Perrie and Zayn were sitting cross-legged on the floor, Leigh-Anne on the other side of the room reading a book. Niall sat next to her. “What you reading?”

She held the book up. “It’s called ‘I Don’t Want to Look At Those Two And Their Blossoming Love’. It’s riveting.” She laughed and rolled her eyes. “Finally decided to get over your fear of babies and pay us a visit?”

“Of course not. I just wanted to chaaaaaaat with my favorite people!” Niall sunk down in the chair. Everything in the nursery was soft and welcoming to naps. A dangerous situation. “And I just wanted to ask if you know if Jesy is single?”

Zayn called from across the room. “She is too much woman for you, man. Aim your sights lower!” Perrie laughed and covered his mouth, hit him in the arm.

Leigh-Anne was much more supportive. “She just broke up with Jordan a couple months ago. But she seems to be in a good place? It was a mutual decision. I think trying to get into the masters program is a bit much for her right now, though. Maybe at the barbecue, you two can talk?”

“Is everyone going to come this weekend? I’m going to be battling Harry for grillmaster! He said I can do it, but you know how he gets when an apron and a spatula are involved.” Everyone chimed in with agreement.

Jesy came in the room then, walked to the fridge and grabbed a drink. “Are you talking about the barbecue? What’s everyone bringing? I can’t cook at all.”

“I’m bringing potato salad. “Leigh-Anne supplied. “You can bring some crisps, maybe? Niall, what do you think Jesy should bring to the barbecue?”

“She can bring herself. That’s gift enough, I suppose.”

*****

Saturday brought plenty of sunshine and a barbecue at Louis’s, with the promise of booze and deepening love connections. Harry got there several hours before, and an hour before Louis had planned to wake up, to begin the prep. When Louis opened the door, Harry was already wearing a chef’s hat and apron, balancing various bags and boxes in his giant arms. “Everything has to be perfect, Lou. We have marriages at stake here!”

“Babe. Zayn and Perrie are practically living together and I heard Leigh and Jesy discussing Niall and his “charm” the other day.” He kissed Harry’s neck as he unloaded the boxes onto the counter. “Calm down, love. This is going to be a great time. Everyone will have fun as long as you stay calm and keep your arrows in their quiver, okay?”

Harry pouted but agreed. “If we don’t get a double wedding next spring, it’s all your fault.”

*****

Half-twelve came and everyone arrived with a flurry of noise, hugs, and assorted treats. Zayn and Perrie arrived together, Perrie bearing brownies and Zayn with a case of beer. Jesy came sans Niall, with four bags of chips. When Niall arrived, she stuck a red bow atop her head and said cheekily, “What do you reckon? Gift enough?”

Niall turned bright red and plucked the bow off her head. “Don’t think you could have done any better.”

*****

Harry and Niall shared grilling duties as a battle for the grillmaster title ended after a particularly brutal game of Fruit Ninja in which two watermelons were lost to the cause before Louis finally called a tie. This was not a fair decision, in Niall’s opinion. But when you are in the King’s home, you abide by the King’s rules. And if that meant he had to put up with the Court Jester, then so be it. Harry asked Niall if he enjoyed being at the nursery, with genuine concern in his voice. Niall grabbed the spatula, causing Harry to whine. “It’s not my fault kids aren’t smart and think giants are worth gashing open their foreheads.”

“Do you really hate the kids? You and Sebastian seem to get on well. Do you like being there? I know I didn’t give you much of a choice.” Harry snatched the spatula back to flip the food on his designated side. He knew he should have brought his own barbecuing hardware.

“No, it’s actually quite fun. The kids are wicked, they’re funny and smart. I don’t mind it much at all.” He bumped Harry’s shoulder with his own. “It beats being hungover until 4, I know that much.”

“I just thought it would be fun. I was going to spend the whole summer there anyway, and I wanted to spend time with you. And Lou. I know I’ve been a bit of an ass lately, spending all my time with him. But this nursery was such a big deal and he was so nervous and worried and-” Harry was interrupted with a hot dog to the face.

“Quit talking, start grilling, Styles.”

*****

The rowdy afternoon gave way to a quieter evening, the group breaking off to smaller pairs. Harry was asleep on the couch in the sunroom, exhausted from the master grilling success. Niall left early, having had to catch a flight to Ireland for his nephew’s baptism. The girls were alternating between the the living room and the kitchen, making sure all the alcohol was gone before they left.

“Those brownies were delicious, P. Who made them?’ Jesy sat next to Perrie on the couch gingerly, still sloshing some of her beer out of the bottle. “Because I’ve had your desserts before and these were not yours.”

Perrie laughed. “It’s a recipe from Zayn’s mom. I found it in a recipe box in his kitchen. I don’t think it has ever been opened, honestly.”

“You two are getting pretty serious, aren’t you? You don’t talk about him much, which is not normal for you!” She smiled as Perrie hid her head in her hands. “Do you really like him? Because with everyone else you’ve been with…” Jesy flapped her hands like a bird’s beak.

“Yeah, yeah, he’s so great. And the way he is with the kids. He’s so patient and encouraging with them. And he always seems to know what they’re drawing?” She grabbed the beer from Jesy and set in on the end table. “How does he even know what they’re drawing? They’re all blobs, but he always knows. And he’s so smart. Like the other day, I was joking about going to Tate Modern, and he launched into this thing about a new exhibit opening, and his eyes just went all wide and he is so different when he talks about things he loves. It’s nice to see someone love something that much, you know? Did you know he has a graffiti room in his house? I saw it last time I was there.”

Jesy reached over to grab her beer back. “I wish I knew anything about Niall. I don’t think he really likes being there. It’s nice of him to do this for Niall and Louis, because I think he’d rather be anywhere else. But he’s good with the kids. He’d never admit it. Those kids love him, they always have stories to tell. I wish I knew more about him. I can’t read him at all.”

“You can’t read him because you’re drunk and rambling and in no position to read anything. Or to drive. You crashing here? Louis said we can stay if we need to? And you, my dear, need to stay. And I need to do a bit of spot cleaning.” She laid her head on her friend’s shoulder. “Maybe you should ask Niall out sometime. Could be fun.”

“No. If I get into school, I won’t have time for a relationship. I could barely make time for Jordan and look how that ended up.”

“Remember what I told you a week before Louis told us Zayn was coming in to help out? Remember? What did I say?” Perrie twirled one of Jesy’s curls between her fingers.

“You said, ‘I don’t need a man because I’m a strong, independent woman’. And then you laid your eyes on that Adonis and you fell madly in love.”

“And now I’m a strong, independent woman with a man and the happiest I’ve ever been.”

That’s what Jesy loved about Perrie. She never compromised and never did anything she didn’t want to. She had dropped out of uni their second year, and jumped from job to job until she landed hers at Louis’s nursery. She became certified in CCR and took course after course on childcare, and she truly was the happiest Jesy had ever seen her. It made her heart swell and she was proud of her. And she told her such.

“Awwww, thanks Jesy!” Perrie tackled her and they fell off the couch, Jesy’s beer spilling on the floor. “Quick, get some rags!”

Jesy laid back down on the couch. “You’re on your own, dear. Just leave it, it’ll dry eventually.”

Perrie huffed off into the kitchen. “You could never be with Niall, he keeps his and Harry’s impeccable.”

“Good. He can come over and clean mine sometime.”

*****

Niall woke up to his message chime going off. He opened his phone to read Louis’s message: _wicked party glad you could make it! heard p and j talkin bout you on the couch last night_

He smiled and messaged back: _knew it!_

*****

Louis and Harry sat at a table, surveying lunchtime. Louis watched Sebastian especially close. Niall had been gone back home for a week, and the little boy was growing increasingly grumpy and uncooperative. He watched as Sebastian took his chocolate milk and dumped it into his table mate’s lunch pail. The little girl started wailing, picking up her soggy sandwich and cookies.

The two jumped from their seats, Harry to comfort, Louis to discipline. “Hey! hey! What’s this about!? Sebastian, why did you do that?” Sebastian looked at him, defiant. Louis grabbed him by the hand and led him into his office.

He sat the him on a chair and knelt in front of him. “Sebastian. Can you please tell me why you dumped your milk over Veronica’s lunch?” The little boy still sat stone-faced, his arms crossed. “Look. I understand you’re upset, but I need to know why you thought it was okay to do such a mean thing.”

Sebastian’s face crumpled, big tears falling down his cheeks. “Niall is never coming back! He’s been gone for forever and I miss him!” His shoulders heaved as he continued sobbing. “Why did he leave? He didn’t even bring his guitar like his promised.”

Louis pulled him into a hug, his little body shaking. “Niall’s just gone home to visit his family! He didn’t leave you, he wouldn’t have left without saying goodbye, I promise you that. He’ll be back next week, okay? I’ll call him and tell him he needs to bring his guitar when he comes back, okay?” The little boy nodded, but didn’t look assured. Louis looked at the clock; it was 11:30. Niall should be awake. Or awake enough to not cuss on speakerphone. “You know what? Do you want to call him? Hear from him he’ll be back?”

Sebastian’s eyes lit up. He nodded, wiping his nose on his sleeve. “Yes, please!”

Just then, Jesy came bombing into the room. “Is everything okay?” She looked worriedly from a tearful Sebastian to a concerned Louis. “What’s wrong?”

Louis smiled. “Jesy, could you grab me my phone from the desk? We just want to call Niall to say hi.”

He dialed Niall’s number, praying he would answer. “Hrrghoo?” So he wasn’t awake.

“Nialler! I’m here with Seb and we called you because we miss you so very much and wanted to say hey. So…hey!” He held the phone up so Sebastian could talk too.

“Hey Lou. Hi Sebastian, how’s it going?” Louis felt awful; he definitely had woken Niall from a deep sleep.

The little boy’s smile fell when he remembered what had just happened. “I dumped my milk over Ronnie’s lunch and Louis yelled at me.” He fumbled with a rip on his jeans. “But I’m sorry I did it!”

“Well, did you apologize to Veronica? That’s not a very nice thing to do. You can’t act naughty because I’m gone! I’ll be back next week.”

“Hey Niall, if Sebastian is good the rest of the week, will you bring your guitar in for us?” Louis winked at him, as he wiped the fresh tears falling down his cheeks.

“Of course! If you’re good the rest of the week, and Louis tells me as such, I’ll bring my guitar when I come back. Can you promise me you’ll be good?”

Sebastian nodded. Louis translated for him. “I think you’ve got yourself a deal. We’ll let you go, we miss you, we’ll see you next week!”

“Bye Lou, thanks for the call. Bye Seb, be good!”

Louis hung up the phone and Jesy returned it to the drawer. “Okay, kiddo. Let’s talk about your punishment, shall we?”

*****

As promised, Niall brought his guitar in that Wednesday when he came back. He walked in with Harry, and was immediately tackled by a dozen tiny arms and legs, shrieks of happiness coming from the pile. The only person not in the pile was the little redhead that had woken him up from a drunken nap. Niall walked over, sat down next to him. “Where’s my hug?”

The boy wrapped his arms around Niall’s neck. “I’m sorry I ruined Ronnie’s lunch. I just missed you and I was sad about it.”

“Don’t worry about it, mate. I poured my milk on my brother’s lunch because I missed you.”

*****

Niall walked into the infirmary to find Jesy sitting at her desk surrounded by paperwork, unaware he was there. He sat on top of the desk, knocking the papers on the ground.

“Dammit, Niall! What are you doing?” She tried to organize the scattered pieces, giving up and looking up at the boy looking down at her with puppy dog eyes. “What do you want?”

“Wondering what I missed when I was gone.” Niall tried to help with the paperwork and Jesy slapped his hand away.

“Well. Your little partner in crime was a bit naughty in your absence. I’ve never seen Louis have to properly discipline a kid. They were both in tears by the end of it. It was good of you to take that phone call. Seb missed you.”

“You know, I missed him too. He’s a good kid. Being here is fun. Almost makes me want to rethink my major.”

Jesy returned to her paperwork, reorganizing the pile that had been knocked to the floor. “Oh? You mean you aren’t already studying toward an Education degree?” She smirked.

“Ha ha ha. No, music production. It’s my passion, I guess you could say. I want to be a sound engineer. I’m going to be the best there ever was.” He puffed out his chest.

“Oh really? Do you play any other instruments besides guitar?”

“I play the banjo, and drums, and piano, and I play a mean tambourine.” He jumped off the desk. “I should probably get back to the kiddies, nap time’s almost over.” He lingered by the door. “Hey, the barbecue was fun. Did you have a good time?”

“Yeah, it was a good time. I slept on Louis’s couch because Perrie made me drink all her beer.” It was a running joke that Perrie was the only one of the bunch who didn’t drink, but ever since she and Zayn had started spending time together, his alcohol intake had dropped dramatically. “But it was fun. You and Harry are master grillers. Well. You were. Harry gave a valiant effort!”

Niall tipped his snapback. “If music doesn’t work out, culinary school is my backup.”.

*****

Jesy had spent the past two months attempting to get all her paperwork done in order to submit her application for grad school. And on the day it was due, she couldn’t find the most important pieces of paperwork; her references. She frantically called Leigh and Perrie. She called her roommate Jade to see if she had seen the folder somewhere, and not one girl answered. Jesy stood in the middle of her living room in the throes of a panic attack. She rang one more person in a desperate attempt for help. They answered on the third ring. “Hey, Jesy! To what do I owe this pleasure?”

“Niall! Can you come over and help me find my references! I need to submit my application by 8pm and I still have to scan in the references and I can’t find the folder I had them in, can you come help, please? No one else is answering and I’m in a bit of a panic, help!”

“Sure, text me the address, I’ll be over in a bit.”

*****

By the time Niall arrived, Jesy had dissolved to a pile of tears on the floor. “Hey hey, none of that! We’ll find the folder. What color was it? Let’s start there.” He helped her up off the ground and she wiped her eyes on his t-shirt.

“It’s green and has “references” written on it. But Niall, I’ve looked everywhere. I really have no idea where it is.”

“Well green is a lucky color for me.” He tried to joke as he turned his snapback backwards. “Let’s start in the living room, then we’ll move onto the kitchen. You take that end, I’ll take this end. Sound like a plan?”

They searched through the living room with no luck and increasing anxiety. Niall suggested they turn on music. “Do you have Spice Girls? I love a good girl band.” Jesy went to her iPod and hooked it up to the stereo system, and “Wannabe” filled the apartment. They went into the kitchen and Niall started opening the top shelves, Jesy the bottom. On the very last shelf, Niall let out a whoop. “Success!” He handed the folder to Jesy to verify that was indeed her folder.

“Yay!” She launched herself into Niall’s arms and the two broke into a dance to “Who Do You Think You Are”. Jesy grabbed a bottle of wine and two glasses. “This calls for celebration!”

*****

Niall woke up with a wine hangover in a room he didn’t recognize. When he realized what had happened and where he was, he quietly got out of bed and grabbed his clothes. “Sneaking out?” He looked over to see Jesy roll over and look at him. “Thanks for the help last night, Niall.”

He tried to make an excuse. “I…just. I have to get home, check on the cats.” They both knew he had no cats to check on. He was a dog person and no matter how many presentations and pleading sessions Harry had, Niall wasn’t budging. He shook his head. “Sorry. That was stupid.”

Jesy waved her hand. “It’s not a big deal. It was fun, maybe we can do it again sometime. There should be pastries on the counter depending on the time. Jade always brings them home when she works the night shift. Feel free to take one.” She winked at him and rolled over back to sleep.

*****

The summer heat gave way to the fall cold and on the last day that Niall and Harry were at the nursery, Niall felt a pang in his chest. He was excited to get back to classes and back into the swing of uni life where he could get drunk and not wake up for a 10am lecture if he didn’t want to. But he could admit to himself that he was going to miss spending time with the kids.

They pulled up to the nursery and Niall saw his favorite little redhead alone on the swings outside. He walked over to him and stood next to him. “Does Louis know you’re out here?”

“Louis said I have to go to Reception on Monday and I can’t come here.” Niall watched the tears fall onto the sand beneath him. “I don’t want to go to Reception, I want to stay here.”

“Ahhhh, I see. I know, it’s sad to leave your friends here, but you know what? Reception is a lot of fun. And you already have a leg up on the other kids because you know all your numbers and letters and you even have a special talent, playing the ukulele, and I can guarantee you’ll be the only one in your class that can do that!”

“But I don’t want to leave!” Sebastian clung to Niall’s waist. “I’m sad about it.”

“You can be sad about it, Seb! I’m sad that today is my last day. But you know what? Maybe next summer, we’ll come back here and you can tell me all about school and I bet Uncle Ed will have taught you a dozen more songs to play and you could show me!” Niall was surprised by how genuinely sad he was that he wasn’t going to be able to visit with the boy anymore. “Now let’s go inside, okay? Louis promised Harry and I a special party for our going away. Do you know anything about this?”

“I do! But it’s a surprise!” The little boy led him into the building, much the same way he led him to the trucks on that very first day, minutes after meeting. Yeah, Niall was going to miss this place.


End file.
